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2010-08-24: Crossing a Cat's Path
Summary: Nightwing and Batgirl run into Catwoman while on patrol. Location: Gotham City - Bryantown Characters: Catwoman, Nightwing, and Batgirl Rating: PG-13 for violence and mature themes. Note: Takes place not long after 2010-08-23: Cassandra Learned a New Word! and prior to 2010-08-25: Caring for the Wounded Still angry and humiliated from last night, Selina eventually gave up on letting things run their course and instead put on her costume, gathered her whip and began her trek through the city. Leaping from rooftop to rooftop, she eventually comes to a stop here, her eyes sweeping the crime-riddled neighborhood with a frown. It is only a matter of time before she finds something worthy of notice, that being a pimp beating on one of his girls, a teenager who looks all of seventeen, if that. "I don't think so, asshole," she hisses while unfurling her whip which she uses to swing down, her intention being to save the girl from the hulking man who continues to abuse her. Nightwing's also not having the best week, though he's not immediately in as bad a mood as Selina. Still, all this Jason Todd business is certainly cause to give any member of the Bat-Family a serious case of heartburn (literally and figuratively), so a little venting by clobbering some creeps might be just what the doctor ordered. He's flying across rooftops with the greatest of ease, his usual distinctive rhythm of flipping, twisting, spinning, and swinging derring-do rapidly taking him between buildings, all while keeping an eye on things below. As it so happens, he spots the same pimp beating the same girl, albeit from a different angle, and so he too drops to the ground, on the opposite side of the goon, a wicked smile flitting across his features, "Boy are you ever going to have a bad night." He quips, then looks mildly surprised (as much as he can with the mask on) as Selina arrives, adding with a smirk, "Oh sorry, did you already call dibs on this thug?" Catwoman tenses as Nightwing makes his presence known, that being an old habit, but when he semi-smiles and even goes as far as to make that joke she relaxes as much as she's able to by the time her feet touch blacktop. "I'm good at sharing," she counter-quips although there's no form of joshing when she does, her expression as blank as her tone of voice is. The arrival of the hero and the female 'cat' has the pimp sneering and he goes as far as to brandish a switch blade while grabbing the girl by her forearm. "Stay back," he commands shrilly while shaking her, that causing the prostitute to scream in fear. "Oh," Selina says with a shake of her head. "I have no intention on getting any closer," that explained via the lashing of her whip which is aimed for the jerk's neck. Simultaneously with Selina's swing of the whip, Nightwing launches a razor-edged wingding towards the hand holding that switchblade, intending to (of course) cause him to drop the weapon, "Yep. Not getting any closer. Be careful what you wish for." Nightwing replies, not even fully rising from the crouch he's still in. Between the fact that he's now being choked and his hand explodes with pain the guy does drop the knife and also lets go of the girl who darts behind a trash can where she takes to trembling and whimpering like an abused puppy. It's something Catwoman is only marginally aware of, however, as she's busy making her point known. "You don't hit girls," she snarls while tugging on the whip, its hold around the guy tightening, cutting off his air some. Catwoman's profile isn't one of a killer. Nightwing watches with no small amount of attention, quietly readying a sharp-edged batarang to potentially cut the whip if absolutely necessary. He kinda hopes he doesn't need it. He -thinks- he won't need it. But better to be ready, just in case. "You should probably listen. She doesn't look like she's up for much arguing tonight." He spares a glance towards the girl, just to make sure there are no serious injuries on her. No, Catwoman isn't one but with her mood prior to this and having to deal with the jerkward...well, to say she isn't feeling herself is an understatement. "Come here..." she hisses before dashing forward to punch her target in the face. The guy is too startled to do anything to block it and soon he's a crumbled mass on the ground. Reaching up, she swipes at her nose with the back of a gloved hand while she works on untangling the leather she used as a 'leash'. "Could you please see to the girl while I deal with this asshole," she requests of Nightwing, that done as she crouches down to rifle through the felled man's pockets. Nightwing spares a second glances for the thug, adding, "Just leave enough of him for the Police to cart off." Nightwing moves towards the girl, hands up, palms outward (yes, he had to tuck the batarang back away), and not getting within her arm's reach just yet (yes, he remembers the stories of Bruce's first outing), "Hey, it's OK...nobody's going to hurt you. Are you OK? Do you need a doctor?" Catwoman's done being physical with the pimp so Nightwing doesn't need to worry too much about that but what he will be a witness to is her going through all of his pockets and stuff, removing him of any money or valuables. This isn't done for her benefit, however, but rather that of the young one who is about to panic. She isn't quick to calm despite Nightwing's efforts to reassure her that she's alright and eventually resorts to crouching and curling up around herself. Medical help is needed for the child but more than that she's in need of psychological aid. "All right. Things are going to be OK, we're going to get you some help, all right?" He doesn't move to touch her, just keeping his voice reassuring. He'd imagine she might not be so well-inclined towards the male gender at this particular moment. He looks back to Catwoman and frowns a touch, "Do you know someplace we can take her for help?" Leaving her for the GCPD to handle just...doesn't seem right. He respects Jim Gordon beyond belief, but Jim's ethics and competence don't always filter all the way down to the beat cops, even if the force is MUCH better off than it was before he took over. Meanwhile, Nightwing is pulling out and unfurling, of all things, a space-blanket from one of those pouches on his uniform, moving slowly and deliberately to try to drape it around the girl's shoulders, if she allows it. Might help stave off shock, to some extent. Found - $4000 and some change, various gold chains and a cheap knock-off Rolex, the latter two ignored as the crap costume pieces they are while the money itself is gathered by Catwoman. That is what she has to offer the victim when she steps over to where she is hunched over although she doesn't hand it over just yet. "Take her to the ER at Gotham City General," she says after a second, frowning deeply when she does. The suggestion is not much better than dumping a shooting victim or someone dying of an overdose at the hospital doors but she doesn't know what else they can do. The girl does let the blanket be drawn about her and it is now that she looks up, her face a mess with cuts and swollen bruises. Probably got a few facial fractures, too. "You'll have to do it, Nightwing. I can't." "I can get her there, no problem." Nightwing glances towards her, frowning a touch, "Look, I know we're not exactly all that close and this is totally not the best time for a conversation, but are you OK?" He comments over his shoulder before moving to oh-so-carefully scoop the girl up in his arms. "Just relax. We're gonna get you some help." It's not far, it'll only take him a few minutes to get there. "You know what? Don't answer that right now. Meet me two blocks north of the Hospital in twenty minutes if you've got anything you need to get off your chest." That invitation, such as it is, having been made, he moves quickly to get the girl to proper medical attention. Catwoman holds out the wad of cash, it offered to Nightwing as she speaks with the girl. "Please use that money to get an apartment and look for a job..." The money is enough to pay for a cheap aparment along with food and bills for a couple months but she'll need to find employment. Hopefully the teen will decide to get one that doesn't involve selling her body. Once freed of the cash she lets Nightwing do his thing while she dashes off to the meeting place, the unconscious jerkward left for the cops to find. Nightwing does indeed get the girl to the hospital, and being a not-altogether-unfamiliar face there, he's able to make sure she's settled in, and even gets her medical care paid for thanks to a hefty wad of cash he carries for emergencies and an ER administrator he and the rest of the family have an "understanding" with when it comes to record-keeping. He also makes certain that once the girl is discharged, a certain Dr. Leslie Thompkins will check in on her, but that particular call is placed while he's on his way back to the pre-arranged meeting point. He's almost surprised to find Catwoman there when he arrives. "She'll be all right, physically. I arranged a meeting with someone that might be able to help with the rest." Catwoman's at a pre-determined meeting place, her wait having been made in the company of a small alleycat who she swept up and brought with her and is now curled up on her lap while it's being petted. "Thank you, Nightwing," she says softly, sounding near-exhausted; the fight with the pimp was short-lived so in and of itself wasn't draining but it combined with the anger she felt all day and the lack of sleep the night before has put a hit on her reserves. "I'm sorry you had to see me like that. I'm normally not that ruthless but..." Yeah. She doesn't say anything else. "But something's bugging the heck out of you. Seems to be going around." Nightwing notes, moving a bit closer to Catwoman, sitting down a polite distance away. "Heard you're mostly on the up-and-up lately...or at least as on the up-and-up as any of us are. Hope this isn't throwing a monkeywrench into it?" They're on a rooftop about two blocks north of Gotham General Hospital. And guess who spotted them? Cassandra seems to appear, out of literaly nowhere. Maybe it's her costume. Maybe it's her training. Certainly, she -could- be detected. But, she is damn good. She steps out of the shadows and moves towards the two, wordlessly, wondering if Catwoman is going to start kissing Nightwing, now. Or, vice versa. Though, the body language doesn't seem to suggest it. As much as Catwoman would love to talk about what has gotten to her she can't as it involves her 'other life', it being the difficulty involving her date with Bruce last night, and to mention it in any way could easily give who she is away. "Oh, I'm fine," she lies. "Just got a lot on my shoulders and it's kind of gotten to me." The cat peeks an eye open and cocks an ear at the sound of her voice which gets her to smile. "Going straight is the least of my problems," she adds after a moment only to fall short of whatever else was about to be said when she notices Batgirl. She gives the heroine a quick nod hello. No, there will be no kissing of Catwoman going on here. That would just be really awkward and weird. "Well, that's good, I guess." Nightwing notes towards Catwoman, getting the impression she's simply not able to fully vent at him, which is understandable. Nightwing looks up to Batgirl when she arries and looks mildly surprised (both for being snuck up on and seeing her in the uniform), albeit pleasantly so, before cracking a small smile, "Hey Batgirl. It's good to see you." Which might have a slightly deeper meaning for the girl, given the circumstances of their last meeting. "Anything going on we should know about?" A silent shake of her head, to Nightwing's question and Batgirl looks towards Catwoman, curiously, then back to the young man. She makes a silent gesture, to show she is on patrol. It burns the night hours away. She also removes a picture, out of a compartment in the utility belt she carries, and hands it to him. A picture, of Huntress. Apparently, Cassandra may be ... well ... hunting the Huntress? Taking a deep breath, Catwoman pets the small feline a little more before setting it down which causes it to mew in protest. "Sorry little guy. I'll look for you later." One last pet to the tomcat's eaars and then she sends it off, the cat departing by hopping down the fire escape once its lower-most level is reached. She stands up and looks at the picture without even waiting to be invited, thhe image getting her eyes to first widen and then narrow in recognition. Nightwing studies the photo for a moment, "Huntress, right? I haven't met her yet. Just read the file." What relatively little there was. He does, however, note Catwoman's flicker of expression, "But I get the impression Catwoman might be able to help you." He adds after a moment, "Which is just as well, because I've got someone else to look for." Batgirl no doubt can surmise who -that- might be. The source of so many woes these past couple of weeks, as the sudden fading of cheer from his expression and tone might give some hint at. He rises to his feet, exchanging a "fistbump" with Batgirl which seems to serve as both greeting and farewell, though he taps at his ear afterwards and says, "Call if you need help with anything." Okay, the 'Fistbump' is odd, and at first, Cassandra does not seem to understand it's purpose, but, upon reading further language from Nightwing by his movements, she gives a nod. "Yes." Pause. "Okay." She indicates the Huntress again, allowing Catwoman to peruse the picture. She suggests, "Fight." Yep. She wants to fight the Huntress. For whatever reason. There is a moment where Catwoman simply stares at the picutre, not even realizing Nightwing's about to depart until he taps his ear. Getting the feeling that was meant for Batgirl, she simply quickly gives the hero a faint nod in parting before turning to regard Batgirl and that photo once more. "Nice to have a name to put with the face," she comments distractedly. "I happened...no. She happened upon me as I was trying to bust up a drug deal and then Batman happened upon the both of us as we were taking the thugs out." Batgirl nods, smoothly. She is aware, if Nightwing is attempting to depart, but as he's made indication he's going to be heading out and looking for Red Hood she merely turns most of her attention to Catwoman. A pause, and she asks, "Where?" There's something sharp, focused, about Cassandra that isn't quite as relaxed as the last time Batgirl and Catwoman met. Lucky for Catwoman, that doesn't seem to be addressed in her direction. Nightwing does offer a brief wave for Catwoman before simply falling backwards off the rooftop, propelling himself into another series of aerial maneuvers to start his traverse across the city once more. It's kind of funny, really. He's always had a bit of a soft spot for Catwoman simply because he was aware Bruce did. One of those long-standing "kind of feel like you know them even if you don't really" sort of things. Of course, he's not sure if she knows he's the same red-and-green clad teen she no doubt encountered years ago, but he'd be surprised if she didn't at least suspect. In any case, confident Cassandra has her own mission well in hand and hoping that giving Catwoman something else to focus on might take her mind slightly off her troubles, he heads off looking for trouble of his own. Category:Logs